Livonia
Introduction Livonia is by principle a liberal free-market state dedicated to trade and peaceful cooperation with flat tax and a system of government inside her borders, designed to give her citizens the possibility of maximizing their own resourcefulness. Government Livonian citizenship can choose its own government depending on the population's wishes and needs, which are measured periodically in opinion polls after every tax collection. Should the citizenship decide to change the government type, its representatives forward this wish to the supreme ruler, who then decides whether change is necessary. The supreme ruler usually abides by the wishes of the people, unless they threaten the states' long-term goals and national security interests. Internal policies The government in peace time is pursueing policies of infrastructure buildup to increase the number of citizens and the amount of tax collected. Foreign and trade policies The cornerstone of Livonia's foreign policies is her membership in one of CN's alliances. 01.2007 - 08.2007 The Legion 08.2007 Membership application presented to ODN, later withdrawn. 09.2007- Estonians 10.2007 - 12.2007 The Legion 01.2008 - 06.2010 M*A*S*H 07.2010 - The Legion Livonia has most prospered being a member of MASH. This lasted for about two years until the leadership decided to disband the alliance after a lost war, betrayal by one of the members and in the face of decreased forum activity. MASH merged into Legion. So Livonia once again found itself being a member of the age-old alliance. War and instability from 08/2007 to 10/2007 The leader of Livonia went on a summer vacation in Northern Italy in August. Meanwhile there was an alliance war (Dove war aka Legion-Valhalla spy scandal) in which the nation was almost destroyed, but since the government decided to resign from The Legion, it was spared from total annihilation by the attacking WUT nations. Contrary to Livonia's leaderships expectations, a peace deal was achieved between warring parties in WUT and The Legion. After a short period of neutrality and another two wars with tech raiders and aggressive states, Livonia's leadership decided to apply for a membership in ODN, an alliance otherwise known for its friendly relations with The Legion. It is believed that Livonia's status as a Valhalla POW may have complicated matters, but it was actually the final condition to change color to orange that resulted in the end of the prolonged application process. The leaders of the country therefore decided adopt a 'wait-and-see' approach and opted for a rebuilding of the country without an alliance, meaning being part of a non-organized entity "Estonians". Neutrality was likewise adopted, when The Initiative finally fell in September, 2007, which saw the rise of the Legion again as a viable power. Livonia was readmitted to The Legion in October 2007. Although these two months can be regarded as the time of insecurity, in this timespan the country improved significantly both in terms of infra and tech and could now be seen as a high-NS nation and a medium power, although not corresponding to the nations age. After re-admittance both the government and the citizens looked forward to an age, where Livonia could lead a prosperous life in a diplomatically less rough period in CN and Legion history. Missed chances 10/2007 to 08/2008 After The Legion was almost destroyed by internal turbulence after eventually submitting to and becoming an NPO prisoner, the Livonian leadership thought it a good time to leave the alliance for good, as soon as possible. Few wars with tech raiders and spy scandals followed after Livonia left The Legion, eventually joining the M*A*S*H in January 2008. The accession was followed by months of peace, but the economy stagnated as the country became richer, having 42640k strength and over 7k infrastructure in the wake of a new large scale nuclear war in CN history. Acquiring a Manhattan Project earlier in her history had proved to be a right decision. Rise and Fall 08/2008 to 02/2010 As Livonia enjoyed an unprecedented era of prosperity with huge investments in infrastructure and tech, finally reaching over 11k infra, hostilities began between the alliances MASH and Asgaard. The leaders of Livonia joined the war in a push to de-arm Asgaard's forces, when they sent their troops to enemy territory. After a successful onslaught, Livonia was forced to pull back, after initial success. She fought largely defensive battles against two larger nations until the end of the war. Considering the overpowering tech superiority of opponents, Livonia was successful in containing them and protecting her civilian population. In general, the war was aggressive, short and devastating - no cruise missile was forgotten to be launched. Nukes flew every day until they hit their target, clearing ways for oncoming ground troops. This skirmish was part of a larger global war, that reduced former large and giant alliance to rubble. Again. Livonia's old alliance Legion was on MASH's side, but the former overlords of NPO were gone for good this time. After five days, the conflict ended. White peace was signed between MASH and Umbrella. And it happened in due time, saving Livonia from utter destruction and occupation under enemy troops. Livonia was pretty much back where it was in late 2008 in terms of infra. The nations' resources were exhausted, but its tanks, soldiers, artillery and nukes had nonetheless gone, flown and caused havoc and destruction on the territory of its opponents. Had the war lasted another five days, Livonia would have depopulated, as radioactivity levels had gone to highs and enemy aircraft had reduced the cities to rubble. The nation will stay in a state of emergency for another five days, until gradual stabilization can even begin. It's defences shattered, the country has begun slowly restocking its nuclear weapons supply and restoring life to normal on the countryside and in cities that are still former shadows of themselves. The Legion and the rest of the planet seem to continue in a long drawn out conflict. The leadership of Livonia therefore remains in high alert, while rebuilding itself.